December 24th: Christmas Eve has arrived and our trek today is shorter than yesterday’s, but mostly steep, uphill terrain. We climbed out of the valley we had camped in, pulling ourselves up over a steep rock face, the guides and porters at the ready, should a foothold or hand grip loosen.
Much of the day is passed climbing up craggy rocks with sheer drops until we eventually arrive at a breath-taking lookout point; the rain clearing momentarily to allow us to see Mount Meru (second highest peak in Africa) and the surrounding mountainside.
Down in to a valley we slid on wet scree, which gave way under our feet until we came to another big ascent, and a view of our camp for the night. This was to be our final night of acclimatization before the next morning’s 3 hour ascent to the Kili base camp and subsequent final ascent, hours later.
The rain cleared for us briefly again at this camp, enbaling us to look out one way over much of Tanzania, and the other way to..gulp…the summit of Kili, still appearing quite daunting and cold!
The only wildlife we have seen are creatures we call chip-mice (small mice-like creatures with chipmunk stripes and colouring) and gargantuan birds, resembling crows in colour and shrill caws, yet the size of an eagle.
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